Travel Channel orders “Hello Goodbye,” “Metropolis”

TV Planet, hosted by Karla Cavalli (pictured), is one of five series that has been ordered by Scripps-owned U.S. network Travel Channel.

U.S. net Travel Channel has greenlit five original series, including an offering from the prodco of talk show host Ellen DeGeneres.

Hello Goodbye (working title), an 8 x 30-minute series focusing on the personal stories of travelers arriving and departing at numerous airports, is being produced by DeGeneres’ A Very Good Production company in association Telepictures. The series is based on the original format originally made by BlazHoffski Productions.

Two more stand-alone series - Hotel Showdown and TV Planet (working title) – have also earned a berth on the Travel Channel schedule, while Metropolis and Only Happens In… will air as a series of specials, with premiere dates to be determined.

The 13 x 60-minute Hotel Showdown pits four hoteliers against one another to compete for “best hotel” bragging rights. Competing hotel reps spend the night at each other’s properties, and award points throughout their experience as the evening progresses. Produced by Loud TV, the hotel accumulating the most points receives a US$25,000 prize.

TV Planet (working title) is a 6 x 60-minute look at some of the wildest and most popular television shows from around the world. Hosted by journalist Karla Cavalli (pictured above) and produced by Zodiak Americas, the show will feature Cavalli participating in some events, which include a Japanese game show where contestants are blindfolded and try to find a single chair in an empty room.

Meanwhile, Metropolis is a Nutopia-produced 6 x 60-minute re-imagining of the perceptions of iconic global cities through graphics, re-enactments and interviews with famous residents, while the PSG Films- and Symply Entertainment-made Only Happens In… is a 4 x 60-minute series promising to uncover cultural idiosyncrasies.

“Our mission is to provide our audience with transformative programming that provides a gateway and personal portal to experience the world,” said Shannon O’Neill, president of Travel Channel, in a statement.

About The Author

Daniele Alcinii is a news editor at realscreen, the leading international publisher of non-fiction film and television industry news and content. He joined the RS team in 2015 with experience in journalism following a stint out west with Sun Media in Edmonton's Capital Region, and with communications work in Melbourne, Australia and Toronto. You can follow him on Twitter at @danielealcinii.